Let's say I have Gthumb open, and then launch Nautilus from the Unity launcher (in 12.04). Why does it sometimes not focus the mouse on Nautilus, which I just launched? Instead, the focus remains on Gthumb while Nautilus opens in front of Gthumb (and not being focused on).

I wonder how can Ubuntu be released with such a critical bug. After trying to close the wrong application twice because of this bug (the close button is global/shared for maximized windows), I won't try Unity again until it's fixed (well, it's more likely that I won't ever try Unity again, but who knows...)
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marcusJun 25 '12 at 2:52

No it is not correct behavior. The answer to the question "why is it happening" is because there is a bug. I suggest submitting a bug report. Surprisingly I cannot find an existing bug report for this, though I can confirm that it does happen. Post a link to the bug when you have done it so I can attach myself to it.

Edit: Found it. Bug #781931
Not sure why this answer has been down voted as it is certainly the answer to the question of why this happens. The work around using ccsm is not an answer to the question, it is a workaround for the bug. That in itself is very useful and worth posting but it does not answer the question that was asked.

Well, the Compiz answer seems to have made the correct difference.
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GonzozaMay 4 '12 at 11:02

3

The point is that question you asked was "Why does it sometimes not focus the mouse on Nautilus", not "How to make it correctly focus on Nautilus" so the correct answer to the question you asked is that it is a bug. No doubt the workaround is very useful but it is not the answer to the question you asked, it is the answer to a different question.
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clanlawMay 4 '12 at 15:16